All posts tagged Iron Man 3

For people who wondered why avowed Audi driver Tony Stark of “Iron Man” fame cruised in an Acura NSX roadster prototype in last year’s “The Avengers,” well, the move may have seemed a dalliance or even a splurge. After all, sports-car enthusiasts often swap brands suddenly while seeking the fastest, latest thing.

In fact, though, the change reflects the intricate placement deals developed between car makers and movie studios. Honda Motor Co.’s Acura luxury division entered an agreement in 2011 with Marvel Entertainment LLC to provide vehicles for the film “Thor,” which led to a similar deal for last year’s multiple-superhero movie “The Avengers,” which included Iron Man.

But for the coming film, Audi, the luxury-car unit of German auto giant Volkswagen AG said it is again Stark’s “vehicle of choice.” The character played by Robert Downey Jr. will go back to driving the company’s newest supercar, the electric-powered R8 e-tron, in “Iron Man 3,” which is set for a May 3 release.

The “Iron Man 3″ trailer has arrived. Third installments of major franchises are often tragic affairs–i.e. “Alien 3,” “Godfather 3,” Richard III (the actual British monarch, not Shakespeare’s classic play). Can “Iron Man 3″ shake off the rust and show some creative superpowers? The latest “Iron Man” stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley (as the Mandarin) and opens May 3. Watch the trailer. What do you think? Read More »

Even the most determined readers have been thwarted by “Parade’s End,” Ford Madox Ford’s sprawling, 900-plus page modernist masterpiece.

British actress Rebecca Hall, who plays the bewitching socialite Sylvia Tietjens in the BBC/HBO adaptation of the novels, was among the uninitiated until she started preparing for the role.

“I was quite overwhelmed by the books to be honest,” says Ms. Hall, who recently finished shooting her role as scientist Maya Hansen in “Iron Man 3.” “I got through a large chunk of an English degree at Cambridge without anyone ever talking about them.”

The novels tell the story of Christopher Tietjens, a British aristocrat and soldier who serves in France during World War I. Tietjens, who is played by “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch, prizes loyalty, honor and discretion above all else. He begins to crack when falls in love with a young women’s rights activist, Valentine, and his manipulative wife Sylvia has multiple affairs. The novels are beloved by scholars and writers, including Graham Greene, Anthony Burgess and Julian Barnes, but never attracted a wide readership. They sold just a few thousand copies when they were first published in Britain between 1924 and 1928.

Now, with a new mini-series written by award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard, the forgotten novels are finally reaching a mainstream audience, nearly 90 years later. When the joint BBC and HBO production aired in Britain last August, “Parade’s End” suddenly shot up the British best-seller lists. (The five-part series begins airing on HBO tonight). News of the TV series prompted U.S. paperback publisher Vintage to release a new edition of the novel last year; there are now more than 20,000 copies in circulation. Many critics are comparing the cable adaptation to the hit period series “Downton Abbey.”

Marvel and Disney released the full trailer for “Iron Man 3,” the latest in the franchise starring Robert Downey Jr. as industrialist Tony Stark.

In the film, Stark faces a new villain, The Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley), so named because in the comic books, The Mandarin’s father is a Chinese descendant of Genghis Khan (his mother is English). But Kingsley’s Mandarin seems at a distance from his ethnicity, except in name. He does wear the image of the Other that’s vaguely reminiscent of Genghis Khan.

Anyway, the Mandarin has Stark, his company and his lavish lifestyle in the crosshairs — even Stark’s beloved Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is in trouble. “Some people call me a terrorist, I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: Heroes. There is no such thing,” the Mandarin can be heard saying. Stark’s spaceship abode, and his suits, are blown up.

Guy Pearce sometimes pauses before ordering a drink at a bar. Back when he was 18 years old, Pearce was on the receiving end of a drunken punch. He was working at the bar of the Geelong Performing Arts Center in his hometown, about an hour south of Melbourne.

His question was innocent enough–”Would you like another drink?”–but rather than a verbal response, he received a punch to the face.

“I realized pretty quickly the work doing as an actor on stage was far more my speed than taking peoples tickets or selling beer,” said Pearce.

The British-born, Australian-raised actor had been working at the center for over a year doing various jobs, from candy seller to usher.

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